Ahdeskatanka
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Ahdeskatanka Temporal range: Early Eocene
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Genus: | Ahdeskatanka Cossette & Tarailo, 2024
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Type species | |
Ahdeskatanka russlanddeutsche Cossette & Tarailo, 2024
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Ahdeskatanka is an extinct genus of alligator from the Early Eocene Golden Valley Formation of North Dakota, USA. Ahdeskatanka had a short and rounded snout with globular teeth well-suited for crushing hard-shelled prey, though its exact ecology is not known. Ahdeskatanka inhabited the vast wetlands that covered much of western North Dakota during the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum, an environment it shared with at least three other crocodilians. Only a single species is placed in this genus, Ahdeskatanka russlanddeutsche.[1]
Phylogeny
[edit]The type description of Ahdeskatanka provides two phylogenetic trees, one showcasing the strict concensus of the conducted analysis and a second Adams consensus tree that aims to showcase an improved resolution within the group. As such, the latter tree preserves not only the clades recovered by the strict concensus tree but further disolves certain polytomys present in the former. In both instances Alligatoroidea contains only a handfull of basally branching forms like Deinosuchus, Leidyosuchus and Diplocynodon before splitting into the two major groups still around to this day, the Alligatorinae and the Caimaninae. While the contemporary Chrysochampsa is recovered as an early off-shoot of the caimanine subfamily, Ahdeskatanka was found to be an early-branching member of the Alligatorinae. However, it is noted that Ahdeskatanka is one of a few labile taxa within the tree, alongside the genus Allodaposuchus which was recovered as a close relative by the Adams consensus.[1]
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References
[edit]- ^ a b Cossette, A. P.; Tarailo, D. A. (2024). "Crocodylian diversity during the early Eocene climatic optimum in the Golden Valley Formation of North Dakota, U.S.A.". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. e2403579. doi:10.1080/02724634.2024.2403579 (inactive 2024-10-08).
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: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of October 2024 (link)